Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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According to the latest employment figures from the CSO’s Labour Force Survey, published on 22^nd February 2024, total employment stood at 2.71 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. This represents an increase of 6.1%, or an additional 155,000 jobs, compared to the same period in 2021, when total employment stood at 2.55 million. There are now more people at work in Ireland than ever before. As per the CSO Statistical Release on Monthly Unemployment from early April, the seasonally adjusted national unemployment rate was 4.3% in March 2024.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a disruptive impact, with employment reaching a low of 1.7 million in the second quarter of 2020 according to the CSO’s COVID-19 adjusted estimates. The post-pandemic recovery in employment has nevertheless been very strong and highlights the resilience of Ireland’s labour market.

Government policies aimed at creating an attractive environment for both indigenous enterprise and foreign direct investment and enhancing the availability of talent to employers have resulted in record-breaking levels of job creation being achieved in the context of ongoing international economic and geopolitical turbulence, while initiatives such as Pathways to Work are helping to create a more inclusive labour market.

If this momentum is to be maintained, it will be essential that more people – particularly those in cohorts traditionally more distant from the labour market – are given the support they need to enter employment, ensuring in turn that Irish enterprise continues to have access to a pool of high-quality, adaptable and flexible talent.

To meet the demand for skills and to continue increasing participation in employment, there is close collaboration across Government, in particular between the Department of Social Protection, the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, its agencies and my own Department, as well as between Government, industry, and the education and training system more broadly, in order to continue building a highly skilled and inclusive workforce.